Islamabad, in the village of

Tilford Tilford is a village and civil parish centred at the point where the two branches of the River Wey merge in Surrey, England, south-east of Farnham. It has half of Charleshill, Elstead in its east, a steep northern outcrop of the Greensand Rid ...

Surrey, England Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, is an estate which serves as the headquarters of the

Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Ahmadiyya, officially the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at (AMJ), is an Islamic messianic movement originating in British India in the late 19th century. It was founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835–1908), who said he had been divinely appointed a ...

. Islamabad is 10.4 hectares in area, where four hectares are used for headquarter buildings, offices and residential housing. It is the resting place of

Mirza Tahir Ahmad Mirza Tahir Ahmad (; 18 December 1928 – 19 April 2003) was the fourth caliph (, ''khalīfatul masīh al-rābi'') and the head of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. He was elected as the fourth successor of the founder of the commun ...

, the fourth caliph of the community.

History

The site, located in the Sheephatch area of

, was formerly an old boarding school, namely the Sheephatch Camp School, one of the 32 camp schools erected in 1939, designed by Thomas S Tait of Burnet, Tait & Lorne architects following the Camp Act 1939 until 1977. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the school had also served as an evacuees shelter for the Ruckholt Road Central School in Leyton and later closed in 1943. The camp was leased to Surrey County Council from National Camps Corporation in 1946 and maintained it as a co-educational boarding school until its closure in 1977. The land was sold for £80,000 but was again put up for sale and bought by the community back in September 1984 in an auction for around £423,000.

Jalsa Salana UK

It served as the ''Jalsa Gah'', a site used to hold the annual convention

Jalsa Salana Jalsa Salana () is a formal, annual gathering of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. It was initiated in 1891 by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of the community, in Qadian, India. Usually, the gathering spans three days, beginning with the flag ...

until 2004, whereafter the Jalsa's were held in Hadeeqatul Mahdi,

Alton Alton may refer to: People *Alton (given name) * Alton (surname) Places Australia * Alton National Park, Queensland * Alton, Queensland, a town in the Shire of Balonne Canada * Alton, Ontario * Alton, Nova Scotia New Zealand * Alton, New Zeala ...

. The first ''Jalsa'' took place in April, 1985.

Ahmadiyya Headquarters

The International Headquarters of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community was previously set at The London Mosque and served for a period of 35 years since the fourth caliph of the community,

left

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

in 1984. In April 2019,

Mirza Masroor Ahmad Mirza Masroor Ahmad (; born 15 September 1950) is the current and fifth leader of the Ahmadiyya, Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. His official title within the movement is Ahmadiyya Caliphate, Fifth Caliph of the Messiah (, ''khalīfatul masīh al- ...

, the fifth caliph of the community had indicated the site would become the new headquarters for the community, and soon after relocated and inaugurated the new site on Friday 17th May 2019. The formal inauguration of the mosque was held on 29 June 2019 in the presence of faith, civic and religious leaders. Around 300 guests were in attendance, including MP

Dominic Grieve Dominic Charles Roberts Grieve (born 24 May 1956) is a British barrister and former politician who served as Shadow Home Secretary from 2008 to 2009 and Attorney General for England and Wales from 2010 to 2014. He served as the Member of Parl ...

, former attorney general, MP

Sir Ed Davey Sir Edward Jonathan Davey (born 25 December 1965) is a British politician who has served as the leader of the Liberal Democrat party since 2020. He served in the Cameron–Clegg coalition as Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change f ...

, chair of Tilford Parish Council Debra Lee, and former mayor of Farnham David Attfield.

Facilities

As the headquarters of the community, the site accommodates many facilities including: * Mubarak Mosque * Residence of the Caliph. *

MTA International Muslim Television Ahmadiyya International (MTA), a globally-broadcasting, nonprofit satellite television network and a division of Al-Shirkatul Islamiyyah, was established in 1994 and launched the world's first Islamic TV channel to broadcast gl ...

studio facilities * Administrative buildings * 32 additional residences * Multi-purpose hall * Equestrian centre * Courtyard

References

{{coord, 51, 11, 29, N, 0, 45, 07, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Ahmadiyya places Religious buildings and structures in Surrey

History

Jalsa Salana UK

Ahmadiyya Headquarters

Facilities

See also

References